Possession
by Sanguinary Tide
Summary: Xanxus is rage personified. Of course, that's nothing new-especially to his father. Every breath drawn closer to death increases his fear. Timoteo does not fear his end, but rather he fears what will happen with his death. It is this fear that leads him to send Squalo in search of one who he believes can calm the savage beast: a woman. One with a thousand names and faces.


**Foreword:** Welcome one and all! To the first installment that marks the beginning of my "SUMMER TEASE" event. So, I'd like to just say….how much I love Xanxus…I do…I really do. Honestly…he probably ranks number 3 in my top favs list of KHR cast members. In fact…the only reason he's not higher up on my list, is probably because he doesn't get much "screen time." :/ Shame really…he's such a fascinating specimen…I mean character. . …XP Right, but anyway…despite the interestingness of Xanxus, he's a much harder character to interact with and not because he's likely to kill you simply for breathing in a manner which offends him, but rather because he's so completely closed off, both physically and mentally. …I mean the guy is practically a hermit despite running an entire organization of assassins. So yea…and that is why it required some thought as to how to get an OC close enough to him to possibly produce a romance. …Although to be honest ….I had an idea fifteen minutes after I considered a Xanxus pairing….I just didn't feel like filling it out while I was still working on "The Nature of the Beast." .….what? … So sue me! Don't look at me like that! You're reading it now! :P ….Judgey bastards. .

:/ …pssh…whatever….anyway! I proudly give you… "POSSESSION."

**DISCLAIMER:** As I no longer care to come up with clever disclaimers, I will only be stating once, that I, Sanguinary Tide, do not own the creative property of Akira Amano, that which is known as Katekyo Hitman REBORN! I merely own the original storylines and characters featured in this story not a part of the published series Katekyo Hitman REBORN!

_Note:_ This story is TYL.

**Possession**

_Act I_

_**Prologue: The Shark**_

The ninth was dying. There was no avoiding the fact and no longer a point in overlooking it. So when the well-aged man in front of him said as much, Squalo was only surprised by the dry and blunt manner in which it had been stated.

"And what does that have to do with _me_?" He scowled as he glared at the figure opposite of him, leaning on the cherry oak desk behind him, seemingly without a care in the world.

"The ninth is requesting that you carry out a mission for him." Visconti's bored, but nonetheless direct stare drilled into him, but Squalo wasn't about to be intimidated by an old man. …An old man who was still quite capable of fighting an angry mob barehanded…but, _still_ an old man.

"And why isn't Nougat telling me this?" He practically snarled to the old man, his glare lighting on the sunglasses perched on his slicked back head of hair. Visconti had supposedly never been seen without them. "Last I checked, Coyote Nougat was Timoteo's right hand, _not you_."

Letting out a slight and gruff chuckle, the ninth generation Cloud guardian directed a smirk towards the VARIA captain and it made his teeth grind. "And he still is. And like the sentimental sap the right hand generally is," Squalo narrowed his eyes at the subtle insult, "he's at his side. Me, on the other hand," he plucked the shades from his head and removed his handkerchief, "I prefer to keep busy." Visconti's eyes coasted back up to meet his and the disdain found in them made the shark commander want to snap. "Of course, had I known that _keeping busy_ would mean being ordered to deliver the ninth's last request, I think I might have just stayed home. …Especially when it means dealing with _you people."_

"Voi," he didn't even try to stop the growl that followed that line.

Visconti only raised an eyebrow as he cleaned the lenses of his shades. "What? Got a problem, brat? Because if so…I'd be happy to fix it for you."

Squalo clenched his jaw. The treatment he was receiving wasn't all that surprising. None of the ninth generation guardians had been particularly fond of the VARIA after the events of CRIB, although they usually put up a civil front in the ninth's presence. Of course, given the lack of Timoteo, it was practically expected that he'd be treated like shit. …And yet…even having known ahead of time, Squalo still wanted to kill him—slice him open head to toe. His scowl only grew as he fought back the urge to lunge. Instead he tried to think about the mass amounts of paperwork that would follow should he start a fight in Timoteo's office. "_Again,_ what does Timoteo's death have to do with me, _old man?_"

"Heh. You're Xanxus' second in command. It has everything to do with you."

The annoyance faded a bit at that. "Explain."

"You know as well as I do…once the ninth _dies_…things won't be the same. …And Xanxus…Xanxus is unpredictable."

Squalo snorted, but otherwise didn't comment. That was both true and false. The only reason Xanxus wasn't completely predictable was because he was such a loner. It made it near impossible to know just what type of mood you were dealing with whenever you barged into his space or were forced into it. However …things were different when it came to his boss' adopted father. Xanxus had a tendency to…become a bit _unhinged_ when Timoteo came into the picture. One never really knew if he would chose to cooperate because the ninth was involved or resist to the point of violence _because_ the ninth was involved.

Amidst Squalo's internal ramblings, Visconti continued, "In preparation of that inevitable event, the ninth has prepared a mission—one that he has specifically requested that you, as Xanxus' second, carry out."

"What kind of mission?"

"In a sense…retrieval." Sliding the sunglasses onto his face, the elder Cloud guardian reached into his jacket and pulled out two letters. Handing one to him, he told him, "You are to find a woman named Samantha Ridgeback. She will assist you in locating a different woman. _That_ particular woman you are to bring back to the VARIA estate with you. She is to reside on the property and assist in the management of Xanxus' more violent episodes. This letter contains further details."

Squalo scowled as he snatched the letter from him. "And does this so called _emotional assistant_ have a name?"

"No. …_Well_, not that I know of. To my knowledge, she's mostly known as '_The Woman of a Thousand Names and Faces_.'" The guardian's speech and mannerisms were all completely casual as if he hadn't just spoken the name of what many Mafioso regarded as a ghost.

He felt his eyes beginning to widen, but he forced the action to halt. "Voi! Are you fucking kidding me? That bitch isn't even real!"

He could feel the baleful stare being directed at him, even through the darkly tinted sunglasses, as Visconti told him in his matter-of-fact tone, "Well…real or not, it's your mission—which you accepted the moment you took that letter from me, by the way—to locate her and bring her to Xanxus. So, it's probably in your best interest that she _is_ real." He then stood away from the desk and began walking towards the door only to pause at Squalo's side. "Oh. And when you find Ridgeback, make sure to give her this." He handed him the second envelope and Squalo noted that it was thicker than his own.

The old man tilted his head so that his eyes cut across the sunglasses and peered into his own. "For her eyes only."

"Tch." Squalo said nothing, but snatched the offered letter and glared at the elder's back as he sauntered out the office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

3 Days Later—_Queensland, Australia_

It had taken him quite a bit of asking around to finally locate the woman or as some of the locals seemed to call her, Madame Ridgeback. Apparently she was some sort of fortune teller. That combined with the name had Squalo picturing a doddering old crone with a humpback, when really he had no idea what the woman actually looked like. All he had to go on was that she supposedly lived near the cliff in a large circus like tent. It was supposedly pretty stereotypical in design of a traveling fortune teller. Either way, he was annoyed at and quite tired of the long hike that seemingly led to nowhere. So when he heard the sound of crashing waves he immediately picked up his pace, eager to be done with his sudden and unexpected mission as soon as possible.

What he found when he broke the tree line was both expected and unexpected. Not more than ten yards from him did he find the tent, burgundy red in color, pitched perfectly, it's entry way strip, flapping in the wind_. _He only hesitated for but a moment, before striding boldly to the entry and shoving aside the fluttering strip of cloth.

The scent of incense and smoke was heavy in the moderate space. It was obviously lived in, the surprisingly plush cot in the corner, slightly hidden by a gauzy curtain, assuring him of that fact. There was a long dresser on the right, topped with various trinkets, ampules, and crystal bottles filled with richly colored liquid—the latter familiar to him in the form of Xanxus' liquor collection-and stored to the left of the space were several trunks. The center of the room and majority of the space was occupied by a large round table, it's surface covered by a deep sanguine colored cloth and a crystal orb placed at its precise center, held in place by a circling of onyx colored satin. Squalo held in a snort. If he'd had any doubt that the dwelling belonged to a fortune teller before, it was certainly gone now. Still, he scowled. The tent was empty. Pivoting, he stormed out of the tent and looked about. It was a wonder her spotted her.

She was a good distance away—a petite silhouette in the dimming light of day, long dark waves flowing over her shoulders and a long dress fluttering over her legs. She stood by the cliffs, the wind buffeting against her form. The VARIA captain scowled as he stalked towards her. With each step, his vision of her became clearer and soon, Squalo found his steps quickening with suspicion. He hadn't been able to see it at first, but now that he was closer, he could see exactly where she was standing.

The woman was at the very edge of the cliff, the toes of her bare feet supported by nothing but air. Her eyes were closed and she was leaned forward. The only thing keeping her from falling from the edge was the heavy wind. It was as clear as day what he was seeing and in a sudden panic, he ran.

* * *

**Afterword:** So yep…. ^^ …that was short. Lol…but never fear…this story as well as "Matte Black" will be one of the ones that will have both the prologue and the first chapter up for the "Summer Tease" event.

_**-S.T.**_


End file.
